Closer to a Cure? Chemists Synthesize Compound That Flushes out Latent HIV

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717141233.htm

ScienceDaily (July 17, 2012) — A new collection of compounds, called "bryologs" -- derived from a tiny marine organism -- activate hidden reservoirs of the virus that currently make the disease nearly impossible to eradicate.

Thanks to antiretrovirals, an AIDS diagnosis hasn't been a death sentence for nearly two decades. But highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, is also not a cure.

Patients must adhere to a demandingly regular drug regimen that carries plenty of side effects. And while the therapy may be difficult to undergo in the United States, it is nearly impossible to scale to the AIDS crisis in the developing world.

The problem with HAART is that it doesn't address HIV's so-called proviral reservoirs -- dormant forms of the virus that lurk within T-cells and other cell types. Even after all of the body's active HIV has been eliminated, a missed dose of antiretroviral drugs can allow the hibernating virus to emerge and ravage its host all over again.